Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Weekly Wednesday // Linky #4
Monday, 28 July 2014
Mummy Monday // Linky #4
Sunday, 27 July 2014
#mblogchat meet-up (17th Jan 2015 in Milton Keynes)
Hello,
Today I am talking about a #mblogchat meet up that was highly requested. During the recent #mblogchat on Friday night, I talked about plans etc whilst getting advice from you guys and well now plans are being put into action.
I have a date and location, so I now ask that if you want to come like 85% sure then please fill out your name and details in the form below so you can be added to the list. We NEED to know these asap so I know how many of you wonderful bloggers and your beautiful children we will be catering for.
I have chosen this date as I wanted something where I have enough time to plan something amazing as well as 17th January actually marks a WHOLE year since the very first #mblogchat so a sort of celebration too :)
Event Details:
Today I am talking about a #mblogchat meet up that was highly requested. During the recent #mblogchat on Friday night, I talked about plans etc whilst getting advice from you guys and well now plans are being put into action.
I have a date and location, so I now ask that if you want to come like 85% sure then please fill out your name and details in the form below so you can be added to the list. We NEED to know these asap so I know how many of you wonderful bloggers and your beautiful children we will be catering for.
I have chosen this date as I wanted something where I have enough time to plan something amazing as well as 17th January actually marks a WHOLE year since the very first #mblogchat so a sort of celebration too :)
Event Details:
- Milton Keynes Location (actually venue to be arranged)
- Saturday 17th January 2015
- 3-4 hours long over the lunch time period
- Pregnant, mummy or daddy bloggers are welcome
- Children are welcome and encouraged to bring (& partners if you wish!)
- Food (& cakeee!!!), drinks, soft play, bouncy castle & much more provided
- Talks - blogging tips, pamper etc
- General meet and greet of fellow bloggers
- Tickets will cost (price to be around £20, keeping as low as I possibly can)
- Possible photographer
- Goody bags :)
Please bare in mind, these are subject to change (not date or location hopefully) as they are not set in stone yet.
Tickets
I do apologise there will be a cost for tickets but I can not afford it alone, it would be impossible. I will keep it as low as possible but hoping to be around the £20 mark (maybe slightly higher or lower) this will include all your entertainment, food etc. So I do hope you don't mind as I do understand with travel costs etc it can be alot! If you can not make it last minute, the ticket will not be refundable but you may wish to get another blogger to take your place. If not, I will try to arrange for a goody bag to be sent to you :)
Location Choice
It was pretty divided between London and Milton Keynes, but with only an hour difference in travel on a quick easy route. I decided to go with Milton Keynes, as things will be cheaper and I am then able to travel easier with all the goody bags etc as more local to mine. I don't fancy carrying goody bags and cake on the train to London to be quite honest.
I am trying to find a venue which is very close to the train station like walking distance, but at present I am not sure if this is possible. In Milton Keynes buses and taxes do run all over especially from the train station so although this may be an extra cost it can not be helped.
Children
We have made this a child friendly event because we feel it would be fun and exciting to meet all the kids that we see daily on blogs and with the friends that we have made. Their will be plenty to keep them occupied and so they have fun.
PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR DETAILS BY CLICKING HERE!!
Your details will not be used for anything more than contact in regards to the event, as I will send out emails with updates and ticket information when this is sorted :)
If you know any brands or companies that you think may be willing to work with us for goody bags, talks, entertainment or more than please do let me know as it would be greatly appreciated :)
If you have any queries then please tweet or private message as at @mummy_bloggers, email at mummybloggers@outlook.com and I will be more than happy to help as much as I can :)
If you can please tweet the link to this post and get as many people involved as possible, it would be greatly appreciated as more the merrier :)
Thankyou for reading and I really hope to see you there!
Best Wishes, Mummy Bloggers Team xx
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
Weekly Wednesday // Linky #3
Monday, 21 July 2014
Mummy Monday // Linky #3
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Weekly Wednesday // Linky #2
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Guest Post // SEO Tips - Beginners Guide
The Beginner's Guide to SEO for Parenting Bloggers
Getting your blog noticed is one of the biggest challenges for any parenting blogger. As much as you tell yourself, and others, that you're doing it for fun - if you're reading this, you know readers are the lifeblood of what you do and you need to use a mix of strategies to lure them in... Great content is number one. Social media, also vital. And now SEO is crucial too.
As my day job is an online content writer (I write sales pages, product descriptions and blog posts for online retailers) I've become pretty accustomed to the term SEO and what it means for business websites, but it can definitely be put to use for blogs as well.
The problem is, SEO practices can be pretty complex (although some, like correctly naming your images, are easy-peasy) and even the official term 'search engine optimisation' is likely to make the admittedly less web-savvy of you feel queasy! So... I'm going to try and guide you through exactly what SEO is, where it can be used, and how it can benefit you as a Mummy blogger - without scaring you off the whole topic.
What is SEO and why should I use it?
SEO stands for 'Search Engine Optimisation'. It is the process of writing or rewriting web content (in this case your blog content) so that it stands the highest chance of being picked up by the search engines and, hopefully, placed at the top of their rankings - the ultimate SEO goal!
Say you wanted to write an article about 'family days out', you would use SEO techniques in the hope of getting your article at the top of 'Google' should anyone search 'family days out' - the 'keyphrase'. This is because the higher your article is listed on Google, the more likely it is that people will click on and view your page. I don't know about you but I rarely click onto the second page of Google results - I just try another search term!
By using SEO techniques, you are basically giving your blog content an increased chance of being seen. It does take time, but if you really do want more readers, it's worthwhile doing. If you use SEO correctly, it also helps bring you RELEVANT readers, these are people who are searching for the sort of content you are writing, so they are more likely to spend longer reading your article.
How do search engines produce their listings?
This is where it gets confusing and, to be honest, unless you are feeling really nerdy, I wouldn't bother trying to understand it completely.... Search engines, like Google, are constantly changing how they produce their search listings and releasing new 'algorithms'.
Fortunately, there are some pieces of information that the search engines will always look at to decide what your content is about and whether it should be on page 1 or 101 of Google for the search term you are targeting.
Haven't lost you yet?! Let’s look at some examples of SEO in action:
Where should SEO be used?
Here are the places Google looks for the 'keyphrase' around your site, or on an individual article. These are places you should use the 'keyphrase' that you would like to list highly for (let's go back to that 'family days out' example):
Blog Post/Site Title
Bad: Places To Visit With Your Family
Good: The Guide to Family Days Out
Body of Page/Post Text
You should use your keyphrase throughout our blog content - but in a natural, reader friendly way. You don't want to just enter it willy-nilly or hide it in your sidebars (that's called 'Black Hat' and can negatively impact on your efforts). If you can start your first paragraph with it, that's an added bonus.
URL
Search engines will look at the URL of your blog post to see if there are any relevant keywords there. Using your post title is a good way to make your URL but if it's too long and needs to be shortened just be sure to keep the keyphrase in there somehow:
www.exampleSEOurl.com/the-guide-to-family-days-out
This is all the information that search engines take into account but cannot usually been seen from the front end by your readers. This data needs to be unique for each post in order to give you the best chances of ranking well.
Meta Description - This is the description of your post. If you don't write it yourself, using an SEO plugin for example, then Google will take the first few lines of your blog and use that. Producing a description yourself allows you to target your 'keyphrase' more effectively.
Alt tag of images - This is the alternative test that will display if your images do not show (due to a loading error or similar). Using your keyphrase here also boosts your SEO.
Image name - To further boost your SEO chances, use your keyphrase in the name of your images rather than just 'DSC-072-22' etc. I do realise that I am yet to practice what I preach on my site! All my images have gobbledigook names... FAIL.
How am I going to remember all that?
Like I said, I produce SEO content for my job... and yet I’m a little overwhelmed by the idea of using it effectively on my blog, mostly due to the time it takes. I would highly recommend using plug-ins to make the whole process faster and more straightforward. You can then use at least use a plug-in to check your most important articles are optimised as best they can be. As a wordpress user I rate the Wordpress SEO by Yoast plug-in as it checks your content as you go along and gives you an indicator of how well the content is holding up in SEO terms; you don’t have to remember all the aspects yourself.
How quickly will I see results?
Once you understand exactly where you can optimise your content most effectively, don’t worry too much about the content you have already published - get cracking on using these techniques going forward (yes, I’ll get on it myself soon too... promise). Unfortunately, after all this effort Google can still take weeks to rank posts based on your SEO efforts, so you can’t make any changes to old content ranking fast. You can make sure your new content helps you move forward though.
So, that’s all there is to know about SEO?
Afraid not. All this is only really touching the surface of SEO and there are many other elements that can also be used to increase your Google rankings - including social media and link building. If this post has been any help and you’d like another article looking at these aspects, please leave a comment and let me know.
Also, if you have liked this guide, it would be awesome if you could head over to my Bloglovin and give me a like, follow me on Twitter or just say ‘hi’ over on my blog - Songs, Silliness and Such. You're welcome to come and enjoy the less stressful side of my writing or just visit to coo at my cutie boy :)
Saskia x
Monday, 14 July 2014
Mummy Monday // Linky #2
Welcome,
The second week of #mummymonday is upon us and oh wow I am overwhelmed by how well the first week went, thank you so much to everyone that linked up. I have read every post and all so amazing! Looking forward to reading all of this weeks posts :)
Basically it can be anything mummy related - whether it be random ramblings, pregnancy, days out, beauty, crafts etc etc. You name it you can post it but has to mummy related. The post preferably should be a new one, but feel free to add an old one if you get stuck.
Rules:
1. You must comment on at least two other blogs, if you can do more it would be appreciated by the other bloggers of course. I will make sure I try to comment on every single post that is linked up! 2. Please use the Twitter hashtag - #mummymonday with your tweets of posts that are linked up so we can find them in one place on there too. 3. Only one entry per blog please. 4. Please please make sure you copy the badge code above into your post so the picture is there too :)
Best Wishes, Mummy Bloggers Team x
The second week of #mummymonday is upon us and oh wow I am overwhelmed by how well the first week went, thank you so much to everyone that linked up. I have read every post and all so amazing! Looking forward to reading all of this weeks posts :)
Basically it can be anything mummy related - whether it be random ramblings, pregnancy, days out, beauty, crafts etc etc. You name it you can post it but has to mummy related. The post preferably should be a new one, but feel free to add an old one if you get stuck.
Best Wishes, Mummy Bloggers Team x
Friday, 11 July 2014
Guest Post // Pre-Eclampsia
Pre-Eclampsia is a confusing one.. I know I had ignored my warning signs for a few weeks & it was only at a routine MW appointment it was discovered. It can be really hard to tell what's normal & what's not...often swollen feet, headaches & nausea are part and parcel of being pregnant. So it's always good to clue yourself up on other symptoms and signs & if you have a few of them go see your MW.
Pre-Eclampsia is a condition that only occurs during pregnancy - to put it simply it is 'disease of the placenta' & the only cure is delivery of the baby & placenta.
Some warning signs of Pre-E that you can look out for yourself are;
- swelling of the feet/hands
- headaches
- nausea/vomiting
- abdominal/shoulder pain
- lower back pain
- sudden weight gain
- shortness of breath
- changes in vision
Other symptoms that you may not necessarily know about but may be picked up at a MW appointment are;
- protein in urine
- high blood pressure
Many of these symptoms are normal in pregnancy - I know I had swelling, headaches, vomiting, lower back pain, shortness of breath, changes in my vision (I was having black spots & floaters) & non of these particularly worried me-in the later stages of pregnancy I just thought it was to be expected! It really is important to catch Pre-E though as if it is left untreated it can turn into Eclampsia which leads to seizures & (not to use scare tactics but) is life threatening for Mummy & baby.
People that are more at risk of Pre-Eclampsia are;
- first time mums
- women who have previously had pre-eclampsia
- women that have blood clotting disorders
- having a close relative that had Pre-E
- being over weight
- women that are carrying twins/triplets... Or more
- being over 40
I was bang on 40 weeks when my Midwife discovered I had Pre-Eclampsia so the sensible & safe option for me was to be induced & deliver my baby. My blood pressure continued to rise even after delivery of Mini Meldrum & it took 3 days in hospital to stabilise it & a 6 further weeks of medication (& weekly dr's visits) to keep it at a safe level.
Hopefully this time round I will avoid Pre-E but I will be looking out for any warning signs & visiting my MW straight away should any arise. I hope after reading this that you will do the same!
Today's Guest Post was written by Rebecca from Mrs Meldrum, such an informative post. I sufffered too. You can view her blog here, Twitter here and BlogLovin here. If you would like to write a post for us, please contact via twitter or email thank you :)
Pre-Eclampsia is a condition that only occurs during pregnancy - to put it simply it is 'disease of the placenta' & the only cure is delivery of the baby & placenta.
Some warning signs of Pre-E that you can look out for yourself are;
- swelling of the feet/hands
- headaches
- nausea/vomiting
- abdominal/shoulder pain
- lower back pain
- sudden weight gain
- shortness of breath
- changes in vision
Other symptoms that you may not necessarily know about but may be picked up at a MW appointment are;
- protein in urine
- high blood pressure
Many of these symptoms are normal in pregnancy - I know I had swelling, headaches, vomiting, lower back pain, shortness of breath, changes in my vision (I was having black spots & floaters) & non of these particularly worried me-in the later stages of pregnancy I just thought it was to be expected! It really is important to catch Pre-E though as if it is left untreated it can turn into Eclampsia which leads to seizures & (not to use scare tactics but) is life threatening for Mummy & baby.
People that are more at risk of Pre-Eclampsia are;
- first time mums
- women who have previously had pre-eclampsia
- women that have blood clotting disorders
- having a close relative that had Pre-E
- being over weight
- women that are carrying twins/triplets... Or more
- being over 40
I was bang on 40 weeks when my Midwife discovered I had Pre-Eclampsia so the sensible & safe option for me was to be induced & deliver my baby. My blood pressure continued to rise even after delivery of Mini Meldrum & it took 3 days in hospital to stabilise it & a 6 further weeks of medication (& weekly dr's visits) to keep it at a safe level.
Hopefully this time round I will avoid Pre-E but I will be looking out for any warning signs & visiting my MW straight away should any arise. I hope after reading this that you will do the same!
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Weekly Wednesday // Linky #1
Look forward to seeing all your posts :) Hope you lovelies enjoy this just as much as you seem to have the Mummy Monday!
Best Wishes, Mummy Bloggers Team x
Monday, 7 July 2014
Mummy Monday // Linky #1
Welcome,
If you follow us on Twitter or apart of our Facebook Group then you will know that we have a couple of new exciting things coming up including this brand new linky we have created called Mummy Monday :) This is the very first week!
Basically it can be anything mummy related - whether it be random ramblings, pregnancy, days out, beauty, crafts etc etc. You name it you can post it but has to mummy related. I will be linking up with a day out C and I had last week for an example! The post preferably should be a new one, but feel free to add an old one if you get stuck. Only one entry per blog please.
Below is the badge and code, please add this to the bottom of the post that you have linked up with, so others know where to find the linky.
You must comment on at least two other blogs, if you can do more it would be appreciated by the other bloggers of course. I will make sure I try to comment on every single post that is linked up!
Please use the Twitter hashtag - #mummymonday with your tweets of posts that are linked up so we can find them in one place on there too.
Would love to know your thoughts of this? Also hope you enjoy and take part :)
Best Wishes, Mummy Bloggers Team x
If you follow us on Twitter or apart of our Facebook Group then you will know that we have a couple of new exciting things coming up including this brand new linky we have created called Mummy Monday :) This is the very first week!
Basically it can be anything mummy related - whether it be random ramblings, pregnancy, days out, beauty, crafts etc etc. You name it you can post it but has to mummy related. I will be linking up with a day out C and I had last week for an example! The post preferably should be a new one, but feel free to add an old one if you get stuck. Only one entry per blog please.
Below is the badge and code, please add this to the bottom of the post that you have linked up with, so others know where to find the linky.
Would love to know your thoughts of this? Also hope you enjoy and take part :)
Best Wishes, Mummy Bloggers Team x
Sunday, 6 July 2014
Guest Post // Making Mummy Friends
Isolation. New mum. These words often find themselves in the same sentence whether it's in the press, baby magazines, on TV, in conversation. There always seems to be a lot of discussion around the topic and now that I've become a new mum I can see why.
My case was always going to be a bit different as I had to move from London to Portsmouth 2-3 weeks before giving birth due to my husbands job. All the midwives we saw down here thought we were crazy especially when Isla came a week early!! But we're used to moving so try to take it in our stride.
I've moved around quite a bit throughout my life and have always eventually managed to settle wherever I am. So when people started chatting about having to get out and about and make new friends I thought that I'd be pretty practised in it. I don't think I fully appreciated how different making friends is when you're 'someone's mum' rather than just you and the only thing you have in common with the people you meet (to begin with) is your babies.
When we lived in London it was go go go all the time. I worked 9-5 Monday to Friday in a busy retail head office and had made really close friends there. I had close friends and a few best friends from other places I'd lived who were living in London. We met even more friends through friends as a couple and through Rob's work as well. To be honest at times it was so hard to keep up with everyone! Week nights filled up just as fast as weekends and it was lovely to always have plans.
Cue a huge big shock when not only had I just had a baby (which let's face it, no matter how prepared you think you are, it rocks your world a little!!) and gone on maternity leave, we'd also just moved away from where we'd lived for the past 4 years. The sudden realisation that I didn't have any friends and had a new baby to stay at home with all the time threw me into a bit of a feeling-sorry-for-myself state of isolation. I've also always been really independent with my social life and having to adjust to being dependent on Rob for social interaction in the evenings has been hard.
I'm rubbish at being at home alone at the best of times. When I was working I was rarely ever off sick and even when I had bronchitis I had to be forced off work and got bored after a day at home! So, to begin with, looking at my beautiful new bundle of joy whilst on my own at home filled me with a sense of dread rather than excitement.
We do have Rob's brother and our sister in law and nephew near by which is really lovely but they obviously work during the day so I had to begin a mission to try and get out there and meet people.
I knew that if I didn't get up every day, shower, put make up on and get into some sort of routine with Isla that I'd end up in a vicious cycle of feeling alone, isolated and sorry for myself. I figured as long as I was doing something with my days then that would be a start on the road to trying to settle here.
We're lucky in the sense that Isla is pretty well behaved and loves the car. If I couldn't take her out and about in the car without her screaming I'm pretty sure I'd be a lonely, isolated recluse by now.
I started scoping out baby groups on google and Facebook and got a lot of info from my health visitor on what goes on baby wise around the area. In a way it's lucky that there are a lot of groups, classes and things that go on around here.
I started off slowly and went to a stay and play session at a sure start centre with a neighbour who has a one year old. It was good and there was a whole range of ages of kids there. The parents didn't really talk to each other much but it was fine as I chatted with my neighbour lots who is so lovely and has been a great help so far. She popped a note through our door one day when we moved in and has been really friendly ever since!!
The next week I found an NCT group specifically for babies that was being run at the local library so I thought that might be good as it would be all babies rather than a range of ages. I tried to go along two weeks in a row but had meltdowns with Isla that meant I didn't leave the house which was upsetting. Eventually I went along one week and everyone was sitting in a circle. They all looked like they knew each other and we're chatting away which filled me with a horrible anxiety (I'm sure most new mums have felt at one point or another!). I tried to join in the chats as much as possible but at times I was left just sitting there wondering what to do as Isla was sound asleep and I was just sitting there in silence. I didn't want to look like I was overly talking but at the same time didn't want to look quiet, it was hard to find a balance whilst really nervous! At the end of the group two girls came up and started speaking which was nice and told me about another group they went to at the nursery they worked at. They also asked my name and said they'd find me on Facebook.
I went along to that group the following week and it was a really nice group. Very chatty and the person running it also did a bit of an info session on weaning. They do different ones every week. There's also a little sensory room for the babies which Isla loved. And there were also lots of sensory toys and pillows to prop the babies up on which is lovely for them.
This past week I went to another group at a church hall that I had heard was a good one. They were nicely organised, had tea and coffee etc and lots of toys for the kids and were pretty chatty.
I like getting out of the house and Isla is loving the social interaction with other babies but I don't feel like I'm getting very far with making actual friends. There seems to be different people at the groups every week which makes it hard and I think that often people are just going to these groups to fill time as they already have their own friends and family in the area. The two girls I met at the NCT one the first time, who are really nice and friendly, have given me their numbers and we're hopefully doing something after the group next week.
You do start wondering if you're worth being friends with when people don't seem to take you on which doesn't do much for the old self esteem which is bruised and battered after having a baby anyway! It can be hard to gauge whether people actually like you when it's all about the babies.
It's obviously a lovely thing that we all have babies in common but it's just finding out whether you have more in common with people other that just babes in order to form proper friendships.
I really miss not having family around at this time too, I think that's making it even harder. I hope that for the next baba (if there's one!) that we'll be closer to my home.
I'm now looking at baby yoga, baby sensory and swimming classes to fill our days with too. There's also a baby PEEP class that my health visitor recommended we go to as it's a good one for baby development. Talk about filling time up just to be out of the house!!
I also made such lovely friends at my antenatal class in London so I'm planning to travel up once a month to see them and their beautiful babies, which is a nice escape!
I've been up to London on my own in the car with Isla to see friends a couple times so at least I know I can do that when I'm missing them and London town.
I guess I maybe need to accept that, whilst on maternity leave, I can't force friendships and they will hopefully just come with time. When I start a new job there will be also be another avenue to hopefully meet people through.
I always have this beautiful little creature to keep me company too...
How have you all found making mummy friends? Does it help having family and friends in the area already?
Today's Guest Post was written by Sarah from The Knott Bump & Us, what a great post and can totally relate. You can view her blog here, Twitter here and BlogLovin here. If you would like to write a post for us, please contact via twitter or email thank you :)
My case was always going to be a bit different as I had to move from London to Portsmouth 2-3 weeks before giving birth due to my husbands job. All the midwives we saw down here thought we were crazy especially when Isla came a week early!! But we're used to moving so try to take it in our stride.
I've moved around quite a bit throughout my life and have always eventually managed to settle wherever I am. So when people started chatting about having to get out and about and make new friends I thought that I'd be pretty practised in it. I don't think I fully appreciated how different making friends is when you're 'someone's mum' rather than just you and the only thing you have in common with the people you meet (to begin with) is your babies.
When we lived in London it was go go go all the time. I worked 9-5 Monday to Friday in a busy retail head office and had made really close friends there. I had close friends and a few best friends from other places I'd lived who were living in London. We met even more friends through friends as a couple and through Rob's work as well. To be honest at times it was so hard to keep up with everyone! Week nights filled up just as fast as weekends and it was lovely to always have plans.
Cue a huge big shock when not only had I just had a baby (which let's face it, no matter how prepared you think you are, it rocks your world a little!!) and gone on maternity leave, we'd also just moved away from where we'd lived for the past 4 years. The sudden realisation that I didn't have any friends and had a new baby to stay at home with all the time threw me into a bit of a feeling-sorry-for-myself state of isolation. I've also always been really independent with my social life and having to adjust to being dependent on Rob for social interaction in the evenings has been hard.
I'm rubbish at being at home alone at the best of times. When I was working I was rarely ever off sick and even when I had bronchitis I had to be forced off work and got bored after a day at home! So, to begin with, looking at my beautiful new bundle of joy whilst on my own at home filled me with a sense of dread rather than excitement.
We do have Rob's brother and our sister in law and nephew near by which is really lovely but they obviously work during the day so I had to begin a mission to try and get out there and meet people.
I knew that if I didn't get up every day, shower, put make up on and get into some sort of routine with Isla that I'd end up in a vicious cycle of feeling alone, isolated and sorry for myself. I figured as long as I was doing something with my days then that would be a start on the road to trying to settle here.
We're lucky in the sense that Isla is pretty well behaved and loves the car. If I couldn't take her out and about in the car without her screaming I'm pretty sure I'd be a lonely, isolated recluse by now.
I started scoping out baby groups on google and Facebook and got a lot of info from my health visitor on what goes on baby wise around the area. In a way it's lucky that there are a lot of groups, classes and things that go on around here.
I started off slowly and went to a stay and play session at a sure start centre with a neighbour who has a one year old. It was good and there was a whole range of ages of kids there. The parents didn't really talk to each other much but it was fine as I chatted with my neighbour lots who is so lovely and has been a great help so far. She popped a note through our door one day when we moved in and has been really friendly ever since!!
The next week I found an NCT group specifically for babies that was being run at the local library so I thought that might be good as it would be all babies rather than a range of ages. I tried to go along two weeks in a row but had meltdowns with Isla that meant I didn't leave the house which was upsetting. Eventually I went along one week and everyone was sitting in a circle. They all looked like they knew each other and we're chatting away which filled me with a horrible anxiety (I'm sure most new mums have felt at one point or another!). I tried to join in the chats as much as possible but at times I was left just sitting there wondering what to do as Isla was sound asleep and I was just sitting there in silence. I didn't want to look like I was overly talking but at the same time didn't want to look quiet, it was hard to find a balance whilst really nervous! At the end of the group two girls came up and started speaking which was nice and told me about another group they went to at the nursery they worked at. They also asked my name and said they'd find me on Facebook.
I went along to that group the following week and it was a really nice group. Very chatty and the person running it also did a bit of an info session on weaning. They do different ones every week. There's also a little sensory room for the babies which Isla loved. And there were also lots of sensory toys and pillows to prop the babies up on which is lovely for them.
This past week I went to another group at a church hall that I had heard was a good one. They were nicely organised, had tea and coffee etc and lots of toys for the kids and were pretty chatty.
I like getting out of the house and Isla is loving the social interaction with other babies but I don't feel like I'm getting very far with making actual friends. There seems to be different people at the groups every week which makes it hard and I think that often people are just going to these groups to fill time as they already have their own friends and family in the area. The two girls I met at the NCT one the first time, who are really nice and friendly, have given me their numbers and we're hopefully doing something after the group next week.
You do start wondering if you're worth being friends with when people don't seem to take you on which doesn't do much for the old self esteem which is bruised and battered after having a baby anyway! It can be hard to gauge whether people actually like you when it's all about the babies.
It's obviously a lovely thing that we all have babies in common but it's just finding out whether you have more in common with people other that just babes in order to form proper friendships.
I really miss not having family around at this time too, I think that's making it even harder. I hope that for the next baba (if there's one!) that we'll be closer to my home.
I'm now looking at baby yoga, baby sensory and swimming classes to fill our days with too. There's also a baby PEEP class that my health visitor recommended we go to as it's a good one for baby development. Talk about filling time up just to be out of the house!!
I also made such lovely friends at my antenatal class in London so I'm planning to travel up once a month to see them and their beautiful babies, which is a nice escape!
I've been up to London on my own in the car with Isla to see friends a couple times so at least I know I can do that when I'm missing them and London town.
I guess I maybe need to accept that, whilst on maternity leave, I can't force friendships and they will hopefully just come with time. When I start a new job there will be also be another avenue to hopefully meet people through.
I always have this beautiful little creature to keep me company too...
How have you all found making mummy friends? Does it help having family and friends in the area already?